I can't help but laugh at people like you. "Dear God, someone patted down my groin, I've been violated! The indignity of it all!"

After all, nobody would ever think to hide anything down their pants right? That would be unheard of.

Let's see... if I go onto a military installation, the most security I've ever encountered was a walk-through-metal-detector. Federal buildings, same thing, x-ray machine for my briefcase at some buildings. White House, same thing. Federal courthouses, same thing. I would argue that those are a much higher terrorist target, yet have reasonable security. Oh yeah, those places also employ LEOs or at the very least, professional security staff. No fast food rejects with tin stars barking out orders to follow rules which don't make sense to any true security professional. I've also never had anyone question my water bottle going into any of the aforementioned places either.

As far as crotch groping, it does absolutely NOTHING to make air travel safer. I could easily take down or severely cripple most modern airliners with the gear I carry in my carry-on. Other than the occasional bottle of water or toothpaste, no TSA agent has ever paid any attention to it. Dangerous people are the problem, not dangerous objects. I can kill someone with a ballpoint pen. I can knock out a plane's comms with my electronic gear. I can even choke a stewardess with my belt or knock someone out with my laptop. However, I'm not inclined to do such things. It's the people who are prone to such things we need to focus on.

If the people handling point security for air travel can't be trusted not to steal from the airport that they work at then that is a big freaking deal. Whether you agree with the pay to park issue or not, you do not want the TSA agents already willing to do something illegal. From there it really is a slide downhill to blackmail from an industrious smuggler to get whatever they want on the plane. The TSA agents should be screened just as harshly as FBI agents since they are the on point defense against plane hijacking.

I don't believe that those caliber of people actually work for the TSA and if that criteria actually existed none of our current TSA agents would keep their jobs. However if a sting into parking passes uncovers a large number of TSA agents willing to break the law then it is a big deal. All it takes is one scared TSA agent who doesn't want to risk losing their job to let one smuggler pass and people can die.